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Glite Dictionary
to clip someone's wings

to clip someone's wings

7.5
Stop someone from using their power or doing what they want
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : limitar las alas de alguien

Examples

  • Clip his wings, Anthea.

    Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

  • The new regulations will clip the company's wings, making it harder for them to expand internationally.

  • Her overly critical manager often clips her wings, preventing her from using her full potential in projects.

  • After the scandal, the board decided to clip his wings by limiting his decision-making power.

Synonyms

to curb
vsto clip someone's wings
73 3.5

To limit or control something to stop it getting worse

targets reduction of power or potential rather than preventing harm
to constrain
vsto clip someone's wings
64 5.6

To limit what someone can do or how they can act

focuses on restricting choices rather than on creative binding
to tie down
vsto clip someone's wings
17 4.7

To limit someone's freedom because they have responsibilities

reduces power more directly rather than via responsibility
to throttle
vsto clip someone's wings
5 7.5

To reduce or control how much of something is allowed

limits power or freedom more generally, not only pace or amount
to tie someone's hands
vsto clip someone's wings
1 4.8

Stop someone from acting or making decisions

limits freedom by preventing action rather than broader control
to clip the wings
vsto clip someone's wings
  • Informal
1 7.2

To limit someone's freedom, power, or plans

is the same idea but often used informally
to enfetter
vsto clip someone's wings
  • Archaic
9.9

To limit someone's freedom or creativity

focuses more on stopping potential than general control

Antonyms

to empower
157 4.2

Give someone the power and confidence to do something

to liberate
104 4.3

Set someone free from prison or unfair control

How Restricted

to paralyzing
  • US
5.1
to cripple
72 6.3
to clip someone's wings
  • Informal
7.5
to hamper
47 4.2
curb
22 4.0
limit
738 1.4

Surface Forms

clip someone's wings infinitive
clipped someone's wings past
clipped someone's wings past participle
clipping someone's wings present participle
clips someone's wings third person singular

Morphology

clip + someone's + wings

The meaning is directly derivable from 'clip' (to cut/trim) and 'wings' (that enable flight): clipping wings literally prevents flying, which transparently maps onto restricting a person's freedom, power, or ability. The possessive 'someone's' makes the metaphorical application to a person explicit, and this physical-to-abstract mapping is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely understand the idiom.

Etymology

The idiom clip someone's wings comes from the literal act of clipping a bird's wings, cutting its feathers so it cannot fly and will not fly away. So the image of a bird that cannot fly explains why the phrase means 'to limit or restrict someone's freedom or power'.